No. 112.] 317 



There are few soils that will not bear "willows; yet some situa- 

 tions are unlit fur them. Dry and exposed grounds, peat-moss, 

 and land covered with stagnant water or quag-mire are not at all 

 suitable. Completely draining the site of a willow plantation is 

 the first step towards its formation and the foundation of its 

 prosperity, and consequently of the profits to be derived from it. 

 The ground may be formed into beds of a less or greater size, 

 according to circumstances, by open drains of a suflBlcient width 

 and depth to keep the soil dry. The open drains will require to 

 be cleaned out, and the cleanings may be scattered over the 

 general surface of the beds. In preparing the ground for a wil- 

 low plantation, if the soil be poor, it should be as well dressed 

 with manure, as if it were intended for a crop of corn. The 

 manure most proper for willows is stable-dung. In no case 

 should a plantation of willows be attempted but in prepared 

 ground, except where a few rows may be introduced upon the 

 very brink of a river, or the top of the banks of ditches. In 

 short, the soil for basket-willows should be deep, well drained, 

 and thoroughly prepared, and the situation ought to be low, Itvel^ 

 and naturally moist ; and if there is a command of water for 

 irrigation, so much the better. 



Nothing can be further from being good management than suf- 

 fering grass or weeds to grow among the plants. Having fixed 

 upon the spot, and having carefully prepared the ground, the 

 next step is to procure the plants. The variety of all others, 

 most esteemed and best calculated for basket-making, is the salix 

 viminulis. An acre of this properly planted upon suita])le sbil 

 will yield, at the least calculation, from one and a half to two 

 tons per acre per year. It is of quick and vigorous growth, and 

 the sprouts grow amazingly long and strong in one season from 

 the stools, which characteristic renders it very useful for baskets, 

 &c. ; the leaves arc lonpj and narrow, of a bluish green on the 

 upper, and hoary on the under surface. The cuttings should be 

 of one year's growth, or of sprouts of one year old, of good size, 

 and cut in lengths of from ten to twelve inches;, cut in a 

 slanting direction witli a sharj) knif<'. It will take from twelve 

 to fourteen tliousand cuttings to plant an acre. Every vigorous 

 shoot will afford from three to four cuttings. The upper or small 



